Editor’s Note: The original title is The 3 Miracles on December 12
Text & Photos: Daniel-C
"We found it! Come quickly!" While struggling through the dense bamboo bushes on the steep slope behind Rosaryhill, vaguely I heard the calls of my companions far away. In fact, it's not that far, just because I had climbed into the gorge and sound could barely reach the bottom. Not sure what they were yelling.
"The Six Brave Men of the HKHSC had finally gotten together for a mission. That's the first miracle." K, one of the six "Brave Men'' who joined the search team, said afterwards with a bantering smile. The HKHSC, short for the "Hong Kong History Study Circle'', is a local interest group composed of people who love local history and cultural traditions. Indeed amateurs like us are often tied up with routine business. There is no shortage of online discussions, but rarely see us meeting up as a group for a single event. The target this time had to be really interesting. In search of relics in the wild, thorny and dense bushes are often the obstacles we have to overcome, and are likely followed by physical pains due to cuts and punctures. We do not see ourselves being "strong", but each member in the team does have his own strengths in different aspects while venturing in the wild.
The Tumbler Rock – a natural landmark nearby while approaching the boundary stone
The target of the day was the City of Victoria Boundary Stone No.9. All these square granite pillars have the inscriptions "CITY BOUNDARY 1903" on them. Before that, the Antiquities and Monuments Office had an official record of seven. Just a week ago, Boundary Stone No.8 was found in Lung Fu Shan: a group called "Historical Walk HK" who focuses mainly on military boundary stones found the eighth Victoria City boundary stone while searching for the missing WD24 military boundary stone at Lung Fu Shan. When the news came out, it became a hot topic in the city at once.
Search for relics in the city usually ends up in disappointment nowadays. That's the way the cookie crumbles. When the ninth City Boundary Monument was found, that was the second miracle, said K, but this miracle was not entirely based on luck. Colleagues of the HKHSC have been studying the possible locations of the Victoria City Boundary Stones for quite some time, based on the historical map and the information attached to the "Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance". In fact K had been to Rosaryhill years ago for a search but in vain. After the eighth boundary stone was discovered at Lung Fu Shan, L deduced that boundary stones should be set up at the intersections on the boundary line, so he called up a search at Rosaryhill again. Indeed, the location of the two boundary stones found is also the intersection of the 700-foot contour line and the boundary line extending in a straight line, at the east and west ends of that contour line segment.
The Rosaryhill Boundary Stone – The inscriptions on the stone become obvious under the oblique sunlight
At 11:20, I finally stood in front of the ninth boundary stone of the City of Victoria. Seemed that I was not the only one who was "blinded by ghosts" and failed to see the stone. While carrying out the measurement, I saw two hikers climbing down the slope not far away. The two seemed to be looking for the boundary stone, but they went in the opposite direction, so I waved and called out to them. It turned out that they were someone I had met before in another outdoor adventure group. The two had just come over from Mount Davis, and based on the information provided by their friend, they had found the tenth boundary stone there. Although we did have plans to visit Mount Davis, we knew even less about the location of the Mount Davis boundary stone, and the condition of the surrounding is ten times worse. Without their sharing, we might not be able to find this boundary stone on the same day. That was the third miracle. Actually it was fate.
The Mount Davis Boundary stone in the thicket
After a quick lunch at Wan Chai downtown, we rushed to Victoria Road. At 2:10 in the afternoon, we walked up the concrete steps of the ruins of Kung Man Village. The dense woods covered with barbed vines and the steep slopes with loose mud and gravel were probably beyond the reach of ordinary people, not to mention the "route" with little trace of a path at all. The clear instruction about the entrance location at the stream numbered CW51 did save us a lot of effort from searching around, but we did not know the exact coordinates of the stone. There were ribbons tied on branches as trail markers, but only sparsely located. Unless with certain wilderness walking experience, one would definitely get lost along the way. At 2:45 p.m., the tenth boundary stone finally appeared under the thicket where one could hardly stand upright. For the location of this boundary stone, the rule of "intersection of two boundary lines" still applies, but it no longer involves contour lines, but a straight line points to the boundary stone of Pokfulam Road, and the other directly to the seafront of Sai Ning Street.
The Mount Davis Boundary Stone – Measuring and recording, some basic tasks during the site visit
Although there are opinions that the boundary of the City of Victoria has always been described in detail by maps and texts, there is no need to rely on those steles to confirm. It is natural that they are forgotten when they lose their function, and eventually disappear from our sight. However, these relics are still an important part of the history of Hong Kong, and they should be seen. The rediscovery of the three boundary stones within just a week is certainly worth celebrating. It is really uncommon (and ironic) that these discoveries come not from official institutions with resources, but from ordinary people with heart for and interest in the city. Sampson Wong, a scholar of urban studies in Hong Kong, once said, as long as someone loves a city deeply, they will continue to unearth stories about it and bring the forgotten ones back to light. Such discoveries are the hidden cultural energy of this city.